Chiropractor says intersection at Kimball Junction is unsafe

A chiropractor in the Park City area said he hopes a pedestrian will not have to be run over before county officials are convinced more stop signs are needed at the intersection of Ute Boulevard and Highland Drive.

"It’s an unsafe intersection. Do we really have to have somebody get hurt before we put the stop signs up? It’s a no-brainer," said E. J. Raven, whose chiropractic office is located at 1441 W. Ute Boulevard. "People treat it as a four-way and it’s not."

There are stop signs on Ute Boulevard but signs are also needed on Highland Drive so traffic at the intersection will stop in four directions, Raven said.

There have been many near misses as drivers on Highland Drive have blown by the intersection with pedestrians trying to cross the street, he said.

"We have pedestrians crossing that road repeatedly. Why wouldn’t we have a stop sign there?" Raven asked members of the Summit County Council in March. "I’m irritated because somebody is going to get injured."

Several people have complained that the intersection at Kimball Junction is unsafe.

Recommended Stories For You

"We’ve received comments about this intersection probably a couple times a year for the past two years, and every year we evaluate this intersection for whether it meets the warrant for a four-way stop. Every time we evaluate it, it does not meet the warrants of a four-way stop," Summit County Engineer Derrick Radke said in a telephone interview. "It doesn’t have the necessary traffic volume to warrant a four-way stop."

No traffic accidents have been recorded at the intersection in the past three years, he added.

"They are going to make some enhancements to make those who are supposed to stop more aware that they need to stop," Radke said. "They are going to paint stop bars and the word stop on the two legs that are required to stop."

Crews are also replacing stop signs on Ute Boulevard with signs that are larger and Radke said the intersection is safe.

"We do 24-hour counts so we know exactly how many cars are going through there all day long," Radke said. "If there was something there that we really strongly felt was a safety problem, we could recommend it, but we don’t at this point."

Many people in the Park City area support making the intersection a four-way stop, Raven said.

"I hear people honking their horn as there are near misses multiple times a day," Raven said.

Summit County Council Chairwoman Claudia McMullin agreed that the intersection is dangerous.

"There is a crosswalk there and there are advance pedestrian warning signs," Radke said. "For the through traffic there will be no changes."

Raven said that is too bad for the children crossing Highland Drive on their way to the Basin Recreation Fieldhouse, which is situated at the northeast corner of the intersection.

"Kids walk across that intersection all the time," Raven said. "That alone should warrant a stop sign."

The speed limit on Highland Drive is 25 mph.

"People at the county say they don’t want to impede the flow of traffic. That’s what they are always going back to," Raven said. "It’s a 25 mph zone so I just don’t think we’re going to have a huge backup. I just don’t understand why the flow of traffic is so critical. It’s not as if it’s a major thoroughfare."